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Adaptation of Semiautomated Circulating Tumor Cell CTC Assays for Clinical and Preclinical Research Applications
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Tumor-specific methylations in circulating cell-free DNA as clinically applicable markers with potential to

Rikke Fredslund Andersen1

  • 1a Department of Biochemistry and Immunology , Vejle Hospital , Vejle , Denmark.

Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics
|November 10, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Methylated circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) shows promise for cancer treatment guidance. Analyzing specific tumor methylations offers a standardized, manageable approach compared to mutation analysis for broader clinical application.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Diagnostics
  • Biomarker Discovery

Background:

  • Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis is a promising tool for cancer patient treatment guidance.
  • Clinical application of ctDNA analysis is hindered by technical challenges and lack of standardization.
  • Current focus on somatic mutations faces challenges due to high patient-specific mutational diversity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the analytical aspects and clinical applications of methylated ctDNA in patient plasma.
  • To explore methylation analysis as a viable alternative to mutation analysis for ctDNA detection.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current literature on methylated ctDNA analysis.
  • Focus on analytical methodologies and clinical utility.
  • Comparison of methylation-based markers with mutation-based markers.

Main Results:

  • Methylations are crucial in cancer development and serve as effective ctDNA markers.
  • Analysis of a limited set of tumor-specific methylations allows for standardization and validation.
  • Methylation analysis presents similar technical and clinical challenges to mutation analysis.

Conclusions:

  • Tumor-specific methylation analyses can supplement or replace mutation analyses in certain clinical scenarios.
  • Standardized methylation analysis of ctDNA can facilitate broader clinical adoption.
  • Methylated ctDNA analysis holds significant potential to advance the clinical use of ctDNA.
Keywords:
Circulating tumor DNADNA methylationbiomarkermutation analysesplasmatumor monitoring

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